Railroad crossing



Feb. 18, 1941. E. TISDALE 2,232,292

' RAILROAD cizossme Filed Dec. 22, 1939 a I I I I I VIII 111m VIII/III]!!! I Patented Feb. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES RAILROAD CROSSING Leonard E. Tisdale, Oklahoma City, Okla., assignor of forty-nine per cent to Joy N. Fields,

Boulder City, Nev.

Application December 22, 1939, Serial No. 310,634

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved railroad crossing and seeks, among other objects, to provide a crossing of this character which will be of onepiece construction so that repeated replacement and repair of parts will not be necessary.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved railroad crossing which will employ a semi-resilient base to cooperate with the one piece construction for greatly reducing noise caused by a train or the like passing over the crossing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a railroad crossing which may be installed rel-atively easily and which will not need attention for long periods of time after installation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character wherein the base employed is formed with inclined sides so that water will be caused to drain away from the device, and, therefore, not undermine its foundation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railroad crossing and base which will be held in cooperative relationship by the weight of the crossing on said base so that the use of fastening devices may be eliminated.

Other and incidental objects of the invention not mentioned hereinbefore will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of my application.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved railroad crossing.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the base employed.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, wherein like numerals of reference will be seen to designate like parts throughout the various views, the numeral I indicates in general the base of my improved railroad crossing. The base I is formed of rubber of sufiicient stillness to withstand the heavy load and strain occasioned by the passage of rolling stock over the crossing. The base will, however, have sufficient resiliency to provide a cushioning effect and, as a result, there will be much less wear on the crossing. The base will, in addition, serve the purpose of largely eliminating the noise caused by the wheels of rolling stock passing over the crossing. The base, as will be seen clearly in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing, is of frusto pyramidal shape and has a fiat bottom 2 which will normally rest on a supporting surface, and a top wall 3 which is provided, centrally thereof, with a raised centering block 4. The base, of course, includes side walls 5 which are inclined outwardly toward their lower corresponding ends to define a watershed. 5

Mounted on the base I is a crossing unit, indicated generally by the numeral 6. The crossing unit includes pairs of rails 1 and 8. It is desired to call attention to the fact that each of the pairs of rails I and 8 are arranged for con-' 10 nection with track of a desired gauge. The rails I and 8 are cast as a single unit in the shape shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. That is to say, the rails of the pair of rails I are disposed at right angles to the rails of the pair of rails 8, for defining a right angular crossing. The rails of the pairs of rail-s I and 8 are each formed with a center section 9. The center sections are cut away at each end, as shown at Ill, to permit passage of a wheel flange. Each of the rails includes a flange I I and the flanges I I of the sections 9 fit about the block 4 and cooperate therewith for retaining the crossing in proper centered position on the base I. In this manner, the unit 6 will be effectively prevented from becomlog disengaged from the base. The rails of the pairs of rails I and 8 are each provided with intersecting webs Il2 and I3 which webs are located at the corresponding inner ends of the rail portions which confront the ends of the portions 9. The webs I2 and I3 cooperate with the portions I0 for permitting free movement of the wheels over the crossing.

It is desired particularly to call attention to the fact that the unit 6 is cast as a single piece of steel so that there will be no moving parts to be easily displaced. The cost of repairs for my improved crossing will, therefore, be reduced to a minimum. The unit will, moreover, be more durable in use thanthose having many parts, so that frequent replacement will not be necessary.

While I have shown my crossing as one of the right angle type, it should be understood that by casting the crossing unit accordingly, the rails may be made to cross at any desired angle.

In conclusion, it may be stated that the cost of production of my improved railroad crossing will be much lessthan that of crossings now in use. The use of crossing Will, moreover, save a great deal of wear on the wheels and running gear of rolling stock passing thereover as well as on the elements of the crossing itseli. Attention is also directed to the fact that inasmuch as the block 4 projects upwardly between the flanges of the portions 9, it will not be necessary to employ fastening devices for securing the unit 6 to the base I.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In a railroad crossing, a base of semi-resilient material, said base having a raised centering block and inclined sides, and a crossing unit carried on the base and having rail portions, said crossing unit having rail portions engageable with the centering block whereby the crossing unit will be centered on the base, said inclined walls having their upper ends terminating adjacent outer edges of the rail portions of the crossing unit and leading water away from the crossing unit and base.

. LEONARD E. TISDALE. 

